The return of Elway

Doc BearJan 7, 2011 3:00 PM

When John Elway took the podium on Wednesday to being his tenure as the Executive VP of Football Operations for the Denver Broncos, he wasn’t shy about taking on some touchy subjects. On the other hand, John Elway has rarely been shy about too much of anything.

He talked at length about things like integrity and dedication, about the unique relationship that the Broncos have with their fans, and how his new position is something that he’s looked forward to for a long time. He’s already hit the ground running, with 25-minute meetings with each of the incumbent assistant coaches. The coaches had already been required to do their year-end player analyses, and Elway wanted their input on the players as much as he wanted to get up to speed on who, on the staff and on the roster, he might consider suggesting the next head coach keep. But Elway also made it clear that GM Brian Xanders will handle personnel decisions for the most part, and the head coach will provide his own input.

Elway also identified what is one of the problems, if not the primary problem, on defense - the lack of consistency in scheme and identity. He promised that this will end, and those words are music to my ears. There are advantages to the 3-4, 5-2, and 4-3, as well as the 4-3 over- and under formations, but there’s a huge advantage to building toward one system over a period of time. That’s been lacking since Larry Coyer ‘only’ got Denver to the AFC Championship and was fired but a year later.

Even Greg Robinson, who had helped Denver win back-to-back Super Bowls, was fired after one poor season by the defense - albeit an 11-win season. Basically, Denver has tended to ignore the defense for going on ten years now. I think that it was Champ Bailey who said that the defensive players were like second-class citizens under Mike Shanahan's watch. Sadly, other players agreed. Champ forgot to mention that the defensive coordinators were closer to endangered species - every year, quite nearly (and literally, for the past five) Denver seemed to have one less. With the level of scheme-specific personnel needed to win in the modern NFL, that’s not enough time to establish anything but a pattern that leads to losses.

The idea that Elway is inexperienced is a classic example of a statement that is half true. John covered that effectively:

I think the experience that I got in the Arena League — that was important. I started that thing, I was the first employee and I started that from the ground up, did that for six years. Now granted as I said, it is not the NFL, but it is good front-office experience. As I go back to what I said earlier, I know what I don’t know and I am really good, and I think we are really good as an organization, in getting great people around us and great people around me and great people in this organization...

If John didn’t have the front office experience of the Arena League and of winning a championship there, as well as successful ventures in two other businesses, a lifetime in football and his own vast experience, I’d be far less willing to express the same level of enthusiasm. But the fact is that he does - and that, more than the ‘Elway Mystique’ was what stood out to me on Wednesday.

As far as the new coach, the list was to start, chronologically, with Mike Mularkey’s interview on Friday (now canceled), and Eric Studesville on Sunday. Perry Fewell, from the Giants and formerly of Buffalo, will be in this weekend as well. Elway will have a corporate headhunter in the room during each interview, something I found both interesting and comforting. Elway has, as he noted in his press conference, always been a man who was good at building teams, whether in football, restaurants or car dealerships. However - one of Elway’s other strengths is that he knows what he doesn’t know, and he’s not shy about getting input and advice from someone who is more proficient in that field. More power to him.

That’s been a problem with the Broncos for a while now. Pat Bowlen, Joe Ellis and even Jim Goodman were impressed with Josh McDaniels, but even the FO admits that they almost immediately pulled the rug out from under his feet by leaving a GM with no experience as a GM and a head coach with no experience as a head coach in place and letting Jim Goodman walk. What went wrong was as much a lack of established procedure as anything else. Regardless of who said what and when, the personnel decisions were not as bad as some would have us believe and not as good as they could have been.

The head coach was running the offense as well as the team and doing much of the personnel work, and the defense struggled mightily. The head coach may, and John seemed to allude to this, have not been as qualified in terms of handling people and egos as he might have been. There was really no clear, effective flow of information and responsibility in the corporate structure. Elway is adamant that this time will be different, and it makes sense that it will. John has been a success in great part through a willingness to talk about what he doesn’t know and to find it out. It’s one of the benefits that he’s bringing to the Broncos right now, and it was one of the first quotes to come out of the presser.

I know what I don't know...The inexperience that I do have I plan on eradicating as soon as possible and going to work. I will find out what I don't know as fast as I possibly can.

After years of teaching Oriental Medicine and working in both eastern and western medical environments, one of the things that I’ve found most common in terms of making serious errors has been an inability to admit to what someone doesn’t know and to make very sure that they learn it. The hard part has often been getting the person involved to know what they don’t know - it’s a blind spot that many of us have. The human ego is a remarkable thing. But that’s why Elway is, well, Elway. His presser was as far ranging as some of his scrambles.

He included a subject that is on the lips and minds of a lot of Broncos fans right now - the future of Tim Tebow. All of the coaching assistants, according to the Denver Post, agreed that Tebow was a well-used draft pick. However, John was clear that Tebow has a long way to go, and stopped short of pronouncing him the QB of the future. In order to achieve that, Tebow will have to move towards becoming the pocket passer that Josh McDaniels insisted on, as well as the scrambler he already is. Coming from a fan, pundit or even a player or coach, it’s one thing. When John Elway says that you need to become more of a pocket passer, it’s a done deal. That doesn’t mean that Tebow can’t be both; he can, and if he becomes proficient in both, look out! But, he needs to work hard on his pocket skills.

This is not, of course, a new theory. However, it’s a good example of how thoroughly Elway is willing to look at the organization. Tebow’s intangibles are off the charts, and John noted that more than once. His ability to run and extend a play is top level. His ability to throw well is probably fairly normal for a rookie, but if he is going to start as the QB next time the NFL holds a season, he’s got a lot of work to do between now and then. Despite how many fans might feel, if Elway comes to the conclusion that Tebow isn’t the best option for Denver, that will be dealt with. I don’t expect that, and I’m not claiming that Tebow should be farther along - my feelings since the draft have been that he’s a Bronco, I support him on that basis, and that I want him to be the best QB for the Broncos that he can be. That’s why I didn’t want him to play this season if possible - he’s still got a long way to go, and I wanted to see him spending his time with a QB coach and working to bring his weaknesses up to strengths.

The wisest man I ever met noted several times that ‘We (as people) aren’t here (in life) to work on what we’re good at. We’re here to work on what we’re not. “ Most people try to get by on their strengths, which is only sensible - to a point. But to grow, to develop and to improve, it’s often your weaknesses that need to be overcome and that will provide the best lessons, if often the hardest ones. The point applies here as well. It’s not an excuse to shirk working hard to maintain the better skills a person has, but a reminder that you win by developing your weaknesses until they are strengths, not just coasting on your talents. Elway noted, as everyone rightfully does, that Tebow is a hard worker and as such, he will get his shot.

The possibilities of Tebow’s potential are substantial, and the options his skills create are impressive, but by bringing up TT’s situation in an open, straightforward manner, Elway is telling everyone that at this point, he doesn’t think that he has a handle on everything that's going on with Tebow, and that he will help oversee making that a reality. Let’s face it - Elway knows a lot about playing QB. His words carry a weight that very few people can manage. Even Joe Ellis referenced this directly:

"We need better football leadership in here," Ellis said. "We need more competitive fire, we need to get better on the field and we need to get better in football, and that starts with John.

Elway covered some territory that may have been indirectly referencing Josh McDaniels, or at least the one that the media put out there. His next coach, he made clear, will understand the relationship between the Denver Broncos organization and its fans, something that Josh McDaniels may never have understood. The next coach will have to be a master of people as well as formations, schemes and plays. When you hire a 32-year-old man to be a head coach, if you don’t expect that to be a weaker point, you’re generally on shaky ground. Most first-time head coaches need seasoning, and younger ones tend to take longer. If you don’t factor that into your decision - and the Broncos apparently did not - the outcome tends to look a lot like Denver’s did this year.

Elway also said two things, back to back, that could be seen as contradictory, but I don’t think that they are. He talked about winning, and he talked about winning quickly, both of which are laudable goals. He also then spoke immediately of the fact that winning will not happen overnight, and I’m glad that he brought this up. McDaniels’ comment that he’d be doing things that no one else had done (and we’re still waiting to find out what they were), came across badly for a number of reasons, and the first was his belief that he could turn around a sinking ship in a single offseason and start it winning again. By setting himself up for that situation, he earned the enmity of many more fans than he might have if he’d said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we did the numbers and more than half of the last Broncos team aren't good enough to play in the NFL. This is going to take longer than we first thought, but our only goal is winning and we’re going to ask you for some understanding on that. I can promise you that we’re working day and night to get us back there.”

Would it have been enough? Probably not. There were lots of people who never forgave Pat Bowlen for firing Shanahan, and Jay Cutler’s near-legendary petulance and McD’s inability to overcome that didn’t change that, nor did he do enough to change the public perception of him. There’s no question that McDaniels also made plenty of legitimate mistakes. But, would it have helped? I think that it would have. It would have helped torpedo the "He thinks he’s smarter than anyone else in the room" whine that came often from the Denver media, and it might have helped people to recognize that he understood the price of the job and the difficulties that it would present. John has been around a lot of clubs, businesses and organizations, and he’s seen the problems that over-promising and underachieving can bring. He’s not doing that, and I’m glad to see that.

What did Elway promise? Not much, per se. Hard work, dedication, and a proven skill at team building are a good, even great, start. He did give a lot of info that was on the level of precision that is possible prior to hiring a new coach. He noted that he’d like to have Champ Bailey back and I hope that comes through, although he ended his statement with the comment "Champ has been a great player for the Broncos and he was a guy that gave his all for the Broncos.” The past tense is a bit uncomfortable for me, but it could have simply been a manner of speaking - we all do that at times, and yet as fans we all parse every word and inflection from coaches and players. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. I hope this is such a case.

Elway sees his own areas of inexperience clearly, and that’s a rare quality in general that you often find in the best executives. One of his first calls, interestingly, was to Ernie Accorsi, and I’ll let John tell the story:

“I have had a couple of conversations with Ernie Accorsi and he has been very helpful. I talked with him for about an hour on the phone. If you don’t know who Ernie was, to have that conversation, it was a nice conversation because we has actually the one that drafted me in Baltimore and then he was in Cleveland when we had ‘The Drive,’ so thank God there was no animosity and he took my call, but there is a guy that has a great deal of experience, has been a very successful GM in the NFL for a long time (and) he is now retired. So, I said, ‘I am hopeful that you will continue to take my calls because there are a lot of things that I would like to bounce off you,’ and he was very generous and said he would love to be able to do that. I look forward to learning from him and seeking his advice.”

So, beyond the mystique of Elway, what I brought away from this was a man who has a degree in Economics from Stanford, reached the top of his first profession in the NFL, and was successful in the automobile industry. Plus, he was a front office leader in Arena football where he had to fire an old family friend, and led to his team there to a championship, gaining useful experience along the way. He also garnered success in the restaurant industry, creating teams to operate the key functions in each business. He’s excited, he’s aware of his limitations and as he wants for the QB, he wants for himself to identify and overcome any weaknesses in his own skillset, and to be able to depend on the people around him to do their part.

After the past few months, with an increasing sense that no one was really minding the ship and a sinking feeling in my stomach whenever the name Joe Ellis came up, this is the first time that I’ve felt a serious level of optimism regarding the Broncos. There will be problems, travails, struggles and missteps - it’s a part of life, and to ignore that is to invite disappointment. But with the solid, basic, intelligent business approaches that John described, I do have a sense that the ship is being righted, and the team may be at the beginning of a return to the sense that this is a franchise that people want to play for, coach for, and be associated with. That had faded, and for any Denver fan, that’s a bitter thing to swallow.

Whether it will be the ultimate answer or not, only time will tell. But everything that I heard from Elway indicated to me that he understood the extent of the challenge, that he sees his own areas of weakness and intends to remedy them ASAP and that he has, thankfully, a clear plan for moving from here back to the land of winning seasons. I don’t know if the play will work, and it will almost certainly see changes - every plan of battle is perfect until the first shots are fired (or, in boxing, until the first time you get hit). But you have to start with a plan, and Elway’s ability to talk extemporaneously and at length, with organization and logic, on what his approach is and will be, speaks well for the future, and was a breath of fresh air after a long Denver temperature inversion in Dove Valley.

Go for it, John. And - Go Broncos!

Learn to laugh at yourself. You will be ceaselessly amused. - Sri Gary Olsen

You can reach Doc at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @alloverfatman

I had that same sinking feeling in my stomach since McD was fired and it appeared more and more evident how incoherent the FO plan and organization seemed.

When I first heard of Elway&#8217s hiring, as much as I love him, I felt like it was a horrible idea that was made strictly out of pandering to fans and a longing for better days gone by. But now I&#8217m slowly building some hope. I think you hit it right on the head when you talked about Elway&#8217s history or building succesful businesses in and out of football and that a large part of this success comes from Elway&#8217s surprising lack of typical ego and ability to recognize his weaknesses and find experts to help him and learn from.

Here&#8217s to the hope that a clear vision of the Denver Broncos comes shining through and success follows! How sweet that would be!

Oh, and btw, how sweet to hear someone with power to change in Denver recognize and be willing to talk about the defense! THREE CHEERS! The defensive coordinator position in denver had become more unstable then the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position at Hogwarts! Eeesh&#8230

Posted by EastCoastBronco on 2011-01-08 15:53:41

Great job Em!

Posted by Boydy2669 on 2011-01-08 14:43:28

Thanks, Doc. Very good read. Your words aren&#8217t garnering the deserved attention due to the post about Dennison and Koetter as candidates for the HC position.

I was dismayed with the non-resigning of Trevor Pryce. Like you said, he only wanted fair market value. When he walked, the solidest player on the DL went out the door. In 2006, his bookend DE Courtney Brown played 1 game. It is easy to see the demise of a defense when half of your DL does not return.

To those who think he did, McDaniels did not destroy this team - but Shanahan went a long way to accommodate that task simply by running the talent level into the ground on both sides of the ball and on STs. He insisted on doing everything and finally did everything poorer than had he concentrated on the HC position. I will watch carefully to see how he fares in Washington. IMO, he hasn&#8217t gotten off to a very good start by installing a 3-4 defense when the talent is based on the 4-3. I do give him credit for recognizing the limitations of McNabb and playing Grossman. Sorry to get off on a tangent about Shanahan.

Elway has an excellent chance to be the catalyst in bringing a Bronco renewal - and to to do it rather quickly. There is a fairly good talent base here now. 1 more excellent draft with time to play together and jell - and I think we have the makings of a pretty good team. I believe Elway - who likes to build things - will be the cohesive value in accomplishing this. He is known around the league. He is respected around the league. He has contacts around the league.

Thanks again, Doc.

Posted by BlackKnight on 2011-01-08 06:57:22

Elway probably has NFL contacts that few people have. To be willing to use them and to know who to use is encouraging.

Posted by sleepyteak on 2011-01-07 22:50:52

Thanks Grover - knew it was one or the other, but didn&#8217t recall which. I believe that the other one - Champ, in this case - alluded to that comment later.

They may have obtained Champ for a RB that Shanahan didn&#8217t want around, but that&#8217s a far cry from having a focus on the defense. It was also back when Shanahan was trying to beat Manning by obtaining cornerbacks - Williams, who died tragically, Karl Paymah and Foxworth, in addition to Champ. Without building the line, and with no thought to the safety position, as well as bringing in Koutouvides as the MLB after Al Wilson went down, switching from him to Nate Webster (one of a series of pretty poor LBs - Jamie Winborn also comes to mind), it&#8217s hard to argue that Shanahan emphasized defense at any point.

He did obtain a few decent players at times (and gave away Gerard Warren, who did well at DE this past year for New England, finishing the regular season with 28 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 16 games (10 starts)), but that&#8217s neither a plan nor an identity. Look at the movement from Coyer&#8217s bend, don&#8217t break approach, to Jim Bates Run Contain (which requires an entirely different roster to work, and was a disaster; setting off a round of bringing in and tossing away DL players with no real plan) to the immortal (immoral?) Bob Slowik, the defense was a second class issue.

I think that perhaps the ultimate glimpse into this problem was letting Trevor Price go because he wanted to be paid market value: Shanahan even said at the time that it was a privilege to play for the Broncos and that Price should appreciate that. Add to that the long list of fliers on the Simeon Rices, the Dale Gardners, the Sam Adams and you&#8217ve a recipe for failure on the defensive side of the ball.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2011-01-07 22:30:22

Pretty certain that it was D.J. Williams, and not Champ Bailey, that stated he felt the defense were like 2nd class citizens. For reference: http://www.denverpost.com/nugg...

Posted by Grover on 2011-01-07 21:57:29

&#8220I think that it was Champ Bailey who said that the defensive players were like second-class citizens under Mike Shanahan&#8217s watch.&#8221

He may well be right but that is a funny thing for him to say considering Shanahan obtained him in return for an ace offensive player

Posted by warmick on 2011-01-07 21:23:17

Good write up Doc. It&#8217s hard when you watched that conference and heard the enthusiasm and openness to John&#8217s statements that a brighter day is to come. Ahhhh, football leadership, where have you been so long.

@underdog - fantastic! at least it didn&#8217t last all offseason like the FAH-VRAH stuff.

Posted by Joe Howard on 2011-01-07 20:49:23

The Jim Favre-baugh saga can now end, it appears.

@AdamSchefter Filed to ESPN: Jim Harbaugh is expected to agree to a five-year contract with the 49ers.